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SPEECH 


GEN. 


G. 


R. 


SMITH, 


> 


DELIVERED IN 
P 


rHE 


MISSOURI 


STATE SENATE, 


. • 




ON THE 





10th OF FEBKUATCY, 1805. 



ST. LOUIS: 

M'KEE, XISHBACK AND CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 
1865. 



SPEECH 






GEN. G. R. SMITH, 



DELIVERED IN THE 



MISSOURI STATE SENATE, 



10th OF FEBRUARY, 18Go. 



ST. LOUtS: 

M'KEE, FISHBACK AND CO., FIUNTERS AND BINDERS 

1865. 






In Exchange 

Jan 2- 19« 



RESOLUTION AND SPEECH 



GENERAL G. R. SMITH 



Whereas, the loyal people of this State, on the 8th day of November 
last, by more than forty-two thousand majority, did emphatically declare 
in favor of the unity of these United States and the speedy suppression of 
this unholy war, begun and carried on by Southern traitors and Northern 
sympathizers ; and whereas, a large number of this latter class are known 
to occupy important civil as well as military offices in this State ; there- 
fore, be it 

Resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein, 
That the Constitutional Convention, now in session in the city of St. Louis, 
be requested to pass an ordinance vacating all the civil offices of this city, 
the incumbents of which were elected or appointed previous to the 8th day 
of last November, and that his excellency, the Governor of this State, is 
hereby respectfully requested to have dismissed from any of the military 
offices of this State all persons who in any manner sympathized with the 
South in 1861, so that the rights of Union men may be secured in this 
Government. 

Mr. President : I have not introduced this resolution for 
the purpose of defining more clearly my position, nor to satisfy 
any one who does not know me that I am and have always been 
loyal, thoroughly loyal — or perhaps I ought to say "Radical ;" 
for I believe that name is now more popular in determining the 
status of a Union man than any other, as indicated by the eager- 
ness with which the Conservatives, of late, adopt it. 

It is not long, sir — as you and every Senator upon this floor 
well remember — since the "Radicals" of this State were de- 
nounced by rebel sympathizers, and by every Conservative, too, 
as Jacobins, Red Republicans and Revolutionists ; in short, the 
most approbrious epithets their imagination could possibly invent 
were poured out upon us as so many vials of wrath, in order that 
they might crush out the Radical party and bring us into disre- 
pute. But, sir, a majority of more than forty thousand uncon- 
ditional Union ballots given for the Radical State ticket, on the 



8th day of last November, has, strangely enough, produced an 
astonishing change in the conduct at least, it' it has not in the 
opinions, of our Conservative brethren. Why, sir, we are now 
regarded as an honorable party, and still more wonderful to relate, 
an honest and patriotic party, deeply impressed and absolutely 
desirous of protecting, unimpaired, this glorious inheritance of 
Liberty and Union, bequeathed us by our fathers. Daily, sir, 
we hear of some astonishing converssion from Conservatism to 
our ranks ; and occasionally a spirit more daring than its fellows 
leaps at a bound from out of the depths of infamy and treason 
to the hight of glory in the Radical party. 

But, although my party is advancing so rapidly in favor with 
the multitude, I have not introduced this resolution to advance a 
single personal claim or to manufacture one jot of political 
capital. My position, Mr. President, as far as I am known, is, 
and always has been, well understood; I have nothing to make 
and nothing to lose by the present avowal of my opinions. So 
long and so intimately have I been connected with the Radical 
party, that its glory is in part mine, and no ungrateful hand 
could, if it would, wrench it from me ; nor can I evade its re- 
sponsibilities, but if ever its day of shame shall come — and come 
it may — I shall enter into the shadow of its red mantle without a 
murmur. 

One principle, Mr. President, and one alone, prompts me; that, 
sir, is to correct an outrage, — such an outrage as every Union 
man in Missouri will bear me out in saying has been and is to-day 
a disgrace — a burning shame — a damning outrage — upon the 
Union party, most reluctantly and grievously borne by U9 ever 
since this unholy and iniquitous war was forced upon our Gov- 
ernment by a bloated and effete aristocracy. 

Go where you may, throughout this State — and I understand 
the same facts exist in every other State — and you will find in all 
the departments of Government, either civil or military, in many, 
very many — perhaps ;i majority— of the offices incumbents, clerks, 
or <'iii)j!oV!'>, who were known rebels or rebel sympathizers in 
1861, and who are now only ostensibly byal through self-interest, 
"that thrift may follow fawning." And now, Mr. President, I 
appeal t'» Senators upon this Hour — I implore them — to give this 
sttbjeol their serious consideration. Shall this condition of things 



longer exist, without an effort at reform ? I am not bold in de- 
claring what is on the lips o£ every truly loyal man, that this 
class of officials cast the weight of their office and their personal 
influence on the side of treason. Yielding obedience to the letter 
of law, they violate its spirit. Fawning about the Goddess of 
Liberty, they conceal a poisoned dagger for her bosom ; drawing 
rich nourishment from the breast of their country, they would 
behold her character prostituted, her beauty blighted, her strength 
departed ; and as the monster Nero fiddled in hellish glee while 
Rome burned, they would in fiendish triumph gloat over the ruin 
of this great Republic. 

Do they never declare for the rebellion?— -equally reticent are they 
in behalf of our Government. Do they no build bon-fires over rebel 
successes? — they are alike stoical when a Union victory electrifies 
the heart of the nation ? Does our Government find it necessary 
to encroach upon the ancient and heretofore recognized rights of 
the South, (rights no longer, however,) with what "holy horror" 
do these hypocritical pharisees roll their eyes Heavenward, and 
shudder for the fate of the blessed "chivalry!" But when civ- 
ilization is outraged, as at Fort Pillow, Lawrence and Centralia, 
and when the scalping knife of the guerrilla is seen all over our 
devoted State — when flags are at half mast, and a black pall is 
upon our land and we miss our Lyons, our Bakers, our McPher- 
sons, and our thousands of other noble dead ; what one of these 
galvanized Union men was ever known to recoil from such bar- 
barism, or propose a monument to the departed great? Be not 
deceived. Remember Price's last raid. Their hearts are deceit- 
ful above all else, and desperately wicked. 

Mr. President, during the continuance of this rebellion men of 
this stripe cannot be — ought not to be — trusted in office. No one 
can faithfully serve two masters at the same time, even though 
both be after the manner of his liking ; much less can he love 
the one and serve the other. 

Sir, the duty of every American citizen is at war with neutral- 
ity toward this rebellion, and obliges him to lend the energies of 
his heart and hand to its suppression. He must be more than as 
a stranger to its interests ; he must be its active enemy. This 
is the service every citizen owes his Government; and it is abso- 
lutely impossible and incompatible with a single emotion of love 



a 



or sympathy for treason. Every officer under our Government is 
in duty bound to wield all the power in his hands against the 
traitors who are striving tj blot out our nationality. But in per- 
fect accord with the principles implanted in our organization by 
our Creator, it is out of the power of any one who loves or 
sympathizes with the cause of the traitors to rise to the fullness 
of this duty. Why, then, I ask, are men of doubtful loyalty, 
and others of known disloyalty, permitted to occupy place and 
power? "The battle is not always to the strong," but often to 
the vigilant ; "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." 

Grant, however, that thus burdened we can still outride the 
storm. Is it wise? Is it just? These are important questions 
that the members of this body cannot consider too gravel v. Is 
not rebellion, in a bad cause against a humane Government, a 
serious crime? Can a nation let crime go unpunished with im- 
punity? Lb disloyalty a virtue, with a virtuous claim upon the 
patronage of the Government against which it has raised the 
fratricidal hand? Can any Government afford to disregard de- 
voted loyalty and oiler a premium for treason ? Before bein<T 
thus merciful, is it not wise to know that it is safe to be unjust? 

Mr. President, I here pronounce the practice of emplovinc 
anti-Government and anti-Administration men in Government 
service as foul injustice. It builds a golden bridge for the return 
of traitors to allegiance. So long as this is the policy and prac- 
tice of our Government, treason will be easv and a traitor in < T ood 
repute. Proper Government places citizenship, with all its 
manifold blessings, out of the reach of rebels. 

Sir, there is one fact known to us al! that makes the practice 

against which this resolution militates especially obnoxious. It 

is this : Throughout our whole State there are thousands of men 

whose loyalty breathes the spirit of martyrdom, whom this war 

has reduced to penury and unspeakable suffering, and whose wives 

and daughters eke out a miserable existence, supporting them- 

dru Igeriea hitherto unknown to them. Let your eves 

>ur prairies, our valleys and our hills, and see the 

.1 of our State ; behold the thousands of solitary 

chim rred monumeuta testifying in their mournful solitude 

that here d the abode of s family who lived in comfort, 

perhaps in affluence, guiltless of treason, therefore broken up, 



scattered, beggared — nay, more, their fathers, husbands and sons, 
in many cases, murdered ; their bones lie unburied upon the soil 
they loved so well ; their crime was devotion to the Government 
their fathers bequeathed them. 

Let us deal thoughtfully and kindly with those who remain- 
Go west and southwest of my home, through what may be appro- 
priately termed the Valley of Death. Occasionally may be seen 
a farm house still standing, the farm unmolested, the family still 
in peace. Nine cases out of ten that family are rebels — a father 
or son, perhaps, in the rebel army. And now, sir, I appeal to 
the good sense of this Legislature in behalf of these long op- 
pressed, down-trodden, suffering loyalists. Through refining 
fires and sore trials of revolution they have remained true and 
faithful to this glorious Union. Is it right that they should go 
needy while the wealth of the Government is lavished by thous- 
ands, nay, millions, upon those who were armed rebels or rebel 
sympathizers in 1861, and who arc now only loyal so far as self- 
interest and oaths constrain them. If wrong, ( and I honestly 
believe we are), in the name of that God who has so long scourged 
us for our sins, let us do right ; let patriots be rewarded and 
traitors punished. 

On the 8th day of last November the Radical Union party took 
possession of this State and entered upon its control. Its destiny, 
for weal or woe, is in our keeping. Two of the departments of 
the Government are now under the control of the Radical party. 
As one of that party, I am free to declare that, as we are to be 
responsible for its administration, that administration should be 
in its own hands. I am aware that in ordinary times this could 
not be ; but now it so turns out that the people, in convention 
assembled, have the power to do all that is necessary for the safety 
and prosperity of the State. I would not have the offices referred 
to in the resolution now before us vacated for my party's sake, 
except to secure the good of this great State. I believe in no 
other way can we so effectually protect our citizens and secure har- 
mony in all the departments of State. I believe we owe it, in 
justice, to th8 long-suffering Unionists of the land ; I believe it 
richly merited by those upon whom it may fall. With traitors I 
have no fellowship, and desire none. I know no grades in loyalty. 
"He who is not for us is against us ;" and here, Mr. President, I 



do most solemnly declare, that so far as my acts as a legislator are 
concerned, I will vote for no bill or resolution that accords to 
traitors or sympathizers with treason equality with loyalists. They 
may return to some of the privileges of citizenship/ but must be 
content with an humble position. They have, by their own act, 
forfeited every right once enjoyed in our Government, and no act 
of mine shall restore them again to the proud title of America-, 
citizens. I may forgive the erring, beardless boys, not -fully 
citizens ere they became traitors, but not now ; no,' sir, not now. 
Born and educated as I was, in what has been known in common 
parlance as "the South," and all my associations and teachings 
"South"— never having so much as visited a free State previous 
to this rebellion— I know well how adroitly, cunningly and de- 
signedly the poison of sectional prejudice has been instilled into 
the minds of our youth. Therefore it is that I can make some 
allowance for them ; but not yet. They must do penance for a 
season, that they may fully appreciate the proud declaration, "I 
am an American citizen." 

Mr. President, in further justification of the resolution under 
consideration, let me very briefly refer to some of the results of 
this unholy war. 

In the spring of 1861, just previous to the outbreak of this 
rebellion, our State was never in so prosperous a condition. Her 
dth was founded upon the most productive agriculture ; her 
commerce was daily enlarging its dominions ; her manufacturer 
were advancing to place and influence; her mountains of iron, 
her beds of other minerals and coal, enough to supply the de- 
mand whole world, were being rapidly developed; her 
r:,ilri,: " Is I"'" idly to completion; her universities, 
r ' jl! " ' • Mm* and s< hools were filled with the youth of the 
! 1 "' 1 ' chai »r the worship of the only true and 

; every 

' r,r ' 1 " J mel a profitable and rich k B word, 

' ll) ' N and happiness. But in an evil hour] 

:1 " 1 unscrupulous Governor issued bis proclamation 

i make war a 

implained of— noo 

•■ived from i] .-,.. 

*b»ng b»t kind* . they had abnndi . be 



9 

grateful — none whatever for enmity. But 0, ingratitude ! stronger 
than traitors' arms. I need not hesitate to tell the truth ; the 
world know3 our dishonor. With pain and mortification we must 
confess that thousinds of our citizens responded to the call of the 
arch-traitor, and locked bayonets in deadly strife with those who, 
for their country, "dared to do and die." 

From thence dates the work of death and devastation. Union 
men were tortured and shot in the presence of their wives and 
children, Many of us were compelled to leave our homes and 
seek safety among strangers for our lives, our only crime being 
devotion to that Union our fathers had bequeathed, "as a rich 
legacy unto their issue." I will not attempt to depict, if I could, 
the horrors that ensued and are still perpetrated upon Union men. 
You all know them. Did every wrong have a tongue, the melan- 
choly story of violence and blood, and "bitter, burning wrongs 
we have in our heart's cells shut up," must still go unrelated. 
Now, as the bloody tragedy seems drawing to a close, what is the 
condition of our State, so prosperous when iirst her peace was 
broken by the clangor of arms? Our people have been wantonly 
murdered, robbed and driven from the State ; our agricultural, 
mechanical, commercial and mineral interests lie prostrate ; our 
railroads torn up, bridges burned, and we unable to re-build them ; 
our universities, colleges and schools abandoned and ruined ; our 
children uneducated and ignorant ; our asylums for the unfortu- 
nate of our race despoiled, robbed, and the unfortunates multiplied; 
our churches are become hospitals for the sick and wounded of 
this war, and we have no more Sabbaths ; our people are ruined 
by taxation, and the cry for bread is heard in our land ; the 
farmer is still shot down at his plow, and armies are still eating 
out our substance. 

Mr. President, this is but a glimpse of the long train of evils 
entailed upon our people by this most foul and unnatural rebellion 
of an unprincipled set of slaveholders and their minions, to extend 
the area of human slavery. They have dishonored the hitherto 
unsullied name of American ; they have crushed the prosperity 
of the commonwealth ; they have plunged millions of honest 
people into the depths of earthly miseries, and cast upon our 
people, for generations to come, the burden of oppressive taxation. 
And why, sir, have they done these things ? Only that the strong 



10 



, , i me'; Does n* posterity call to us from the bosom of 
r tore to guard them against a curse like ours, by affixing 
Laltv to treMon that shall for all time be a terror to tra.to » 
„„«J that those at whom this resolut.on is d.rected were but 
i , ^hostile, and but partially culpable. I answer, the pan- 
me t proooed is exeeed.ngly light, aud far ess than they 
7 Z- It'only requires thorn to descend from places they hold, 
^u. :.ho -U of tie people, as expressed by an overwhelm.ng 
popular ve.dict at the last election, and return to more numb 
spheres, b atonement for ungenerous treatment of misplaced 
confidence and betrayal of their country. 

I believe the resolution a judic.ous one, and that the great 
mass of the Union party of Missouri desire its pasage. 1 urge 
Too, be, representatives here not to disappoint them, but by 
T nammous approval, apply to the State Convention, and to 
h xcellency, the Governor, to execute the behest .t embed*.. 
Lvc said what I have in ,ts favor from no persona, motive; 
aUbou'-h, ,n common with others, I have felt the heavy hand of 
ppr "ssio ,. Not my own wrongs, but the wrongs of my country- 
men u,d my county constitute my sole opology for so long 
occudvui" the time of the Senate. 

O 1 d ILt that the fiat this resolution invokes may go forth. 
■PLen and not till then, will Missouri be redeemed. Then, ...dee 
Mr President, and not till then, will wc enter upon the glonous 
fnture that awaits us. 



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